# POST YOUR LATEST WINE TASTINGS & PAIRINGS



## MDSPHOTO (Sep 10, 2013)

Seeing as my man @ScottW is pumping-up one of my favorite sections of non-related cigar discussions here at Puff I thought I would create a thread about wine pairings. Like finding a great cigar whose flavors perfectly match your palate, finding a wine that compliments your meal is just as satisfying. While there are the typical standards of pairing red wine with meat and red sauce and white with chicken and fish, there are no hard and fast rules. So with that here's my first fabulous pairing.

Wine: Winzer Krems Wachauer Gruner Veltliner Von Den Terrassen
Year: 2009
Price: $19.00
Body: Medium 
Flavors:Crisp, melon, citrus & honey 
Pairing: Chicken, shrimp & steak shish kebabs and lobster, hearts of palm salad with a lime, avacado ranch dressing
Comments: A crisp wine with a slight sparkle to it when served at cellar temp. Served at lower temps the crispness intensified bringing out more of the citrus notes. The wine took on a creamy, buttery texture when tasted with the seafood and ranch dressing, and the crisp citrus flavors of the wine held up well with the marinated chicken and beef.

EXTRA: Gruner Veltliners, IMHO, fall between a sauvignon blanc and buttery chardonnay in flavor and body.


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## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

Here is a henry lagarde (sp.) Malbec with an Opus Love Affair


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## Fuzzy (Jun 19, 2011)

I have been thinking of having a couple of pulls from a bottle of Mad Dog along with a Man O' War.


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## MDSPHOTO (Sep 10, 2013)

Fuzzy said:


> I have been thinking of having a couple of pulls from a bottle of Mad Dog along with a Man O' War.


See Fuz, that's why we need this thread, everyone knows Mad Dog pairs best with Gurkha.


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## MDSPHOTO (Sep 10, 2013)

Wine: Archery Summit
Year: 2009
Price: $29.00
Body: Light
Flavors: Cherry, tobacco, licorice, earth
Pairing: Beet gnocchi in a walnut, sage brown butter
Comments: A very rustic wine whose flavors paired well with the earthy flavors of the beets, sage & walnuts.


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## copper0426 (Aug 15, 2012)

I enjoy a Sandaman 10yr port and Vintners Red by San Sababtian Wines of St. Augustine FL Haven't found a cigar that doesn't pair well


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## MDSPHOTO (Sep 10, 2013)

Wine: Renieri Brunello Di Montalcino
Year: 2008
Price: $32.00
Body: Medium 
Flavors: Cherry, strawberry, tobacco, licorice, minerals, earth
Pairing: Spinach & ricotta stuffed shells
Comments: Brunellos are known for their powerful tannins and can age/mellow for 25 years. Reineri is a producer known for making easy to drink wines while they are young. The wine offered great balance to the meal with the tannins standing up to the garlic and acidity in the dish without overpowering it. Yet when the meal was finished the wine was smooth enough to enjoy on its own.


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## MDSPHOTO (Sep 10, 2013)

Wine: Pedro Ximenez De Anada Alvear
Year: 2008
ABV: 17%
Price: $20.00 for a half bottle
Body: Full +++
Aroma: Strong raisins, chocolate, tangerine
Flavors: Raisins, candied orange, toffee, caramel and honey with just a hint of cocoa
Pairing: Warm bread pudding
Comments: This sherry is incredibly sweet and viscous with raisin flavors dominating the nose and the palate, which is why it paired so beautifully with the bread pudding. While the raisin flavors start off as overpowering the underlying flavors give it enough complexity that you won't lose interest in large brandy snifter of wine. The wine has a lot of flavor similarities to Sam Adams Utopias at a much more approachable price point. I look forward to some cold evenings this winter exploring some cigar pairings with this wine.

Note: Robert Parker, one of the most influential wine critics in the world, gave the 2011 vintage of this wine a perfect 100 score a rarity in the wine world.


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## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

MDSPHOTO said:


> Wine: Pedro Ximenez De Anada Alvear
> Year: 2008
> ABV: 17%
> Price: $20.00 for a half bottle
> ...


What variety of sherry is it? Amontillado,Oloroso? I'm always curious about sherry from watching so many Frasier episodes.


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## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

MDSPHOTO said:


> Wine: Renieri Brunello Di Montalcino
> Year: 2008
> Price: $32.00
> Body: Medium
> ...


When I think of Brunello, I think old world italian wine to be paired with a meal. Nice to see it goes well on its own too.


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## MDSPHOTO (Sep 10, 2013)

Scott W. said:


> What variety of sherry is it? Amontillado,Oloroso? I'm always curious about sherry from watching so many Frasier episodes.


I wish I could tell you Scott, I am total novice when it comes to sherry. My only previous experience was with Dry Sack, a dry sherry, during holiday gatherings. The praise heaped upon this wine by Parker pushed me to try it and I am glad I did. I saw your post on fig vodka and like you I dig anything fig, so you would probably enjoy this sherry.


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## Scott W. (Jul 10, 2008)

MDSPHOTO said:


> I wish I could tell you Scott, I am total novice when it comes to sherry. My only previous experience was with Dry Sack, a dry sherry, during holiday gatherings. The praise heaped upon this wine by Parker pushed me to try it and I am glad I did. I saw your post on fig vodka and like you I dig anything fig, so you would probably enjoy this sherry.


I'm sure I would. I would also encourage you to do the fig vodka, it's surpurb


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## MDSPHOTO (Sep 10, 2013)

Wine: Fonseca Bin #27 Limited Edition
Year: Non-Vintage
ABV: 20%
Price: $10.00 
Body: Full
Aroma: Intense plum, dark berries, spice and a touch of cocoa
Flavors: Rich,lush blackberry,currents, dark cherry, cinnamon spice 
Pairing: Ghirardelli Sea Salt Soiree (Dark chocolate with sea salt and crushed almonds)
Comments: I have always enjoyed Fonseca's Bin #27 as an everyday dessert wine, as if I actually ate dessert and drank port everyday! Bin 27 is a great starter port that comes in around $20 so when I found this limited edition bottle market down to $10 at Kroger I jumped on it. After eating a healthy dinner of fish and brussel sprouts Saturday night I popped the cork on this bottle and paired it with this Ghirardelli offering I found at a 2 for $3 sale. The salty nature of the chocolate helped to balance the sweetness of the wine allowing the decadent dark cacao to really shine through. Port and chocolate are always a great pairing and the addition of the salt an almonds made this pairing something special.


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## mc808 (Oct 24, 2014)

Scott W. said:


> What variety of sherry is it? Amontillado,Oloroso? I'm always curious about sherry from watching so many Frasier episodes.


It's a Pedro Ximenez or PX, a dessert sherry made from the grape of the same name. Amontillado, Oloroso, and Fino sherries are made from the Palomino grape.


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